Older core models don't have HDMI sockets, which are vital if you want a decent HD picture.

Also they are the revision 1 motherboards, dogged with heat issues, which Microsoft slightly addressed with their redesigned Zephyr Motherboard they introduced with the HDMI input and a better Heatsink and new capacitors.

The newest and currently more reliable Falcom Motherboard has redesigned capacitors and a 65nm CPU core instead of the older 90nm CPU core, which runs cooler. It also has a lighter and less wattage 175w power supply and is a lot quieter and defintiely a lot cooler. A fourth revision Jasper is set to roll out towards the end of this year with both 65nm CPU and GPU.

A Core 360 would definitely be a revision 1 Xbox.
An Arcade 360 would either be an older stock Zephyr or a new Falcon.

Good deal, however Ias I have posted before I know this is a forum looking for the best deal, but sometimes the user may want to consider reliability and customer support.

Tesco have not been great I have read on forums about accepting back faulty 360's palming the consumer onto Microsoft.

I am on my 3rd Xbox 360 from Gamestation under warranty, no hassle swap out unit (not because they were faulty but because I am a fussy b*gger that had a revision 1 and now have a Falcon, dont forget I paid a lot more nearly a year ago for my premium and want to ensure I have the most reliable unit)

Just ask yourself this question, Xbox goes t*ts up, would you prefer a NEW replacement from a shop under warranty, or have a refurbished one from Microsoft after it is is shipped off to them some two weeks later? Remember this is £130 with no games, you will be wanting games surely? Add the cost of one current game and oh its £160, same price as an Arcade with a game from other retailers.

My advice, check what retailiers offer replacement 360's under warranty, get a box that has a 175w power supply instead of trying to pinch save......you pay your money, you make your choice though.

Older core models don't have HDMI sockets, which are vital if you want a decent HD picture.

Rubbish, VGA & Componant work just fine, maybe even better

Im not voting this hot or cold, for a new 360 its a great deal, altho, seing as shopto are so cheap id pay the extra tenner, you get HDMI, Wireless pad (instead of wire)(I think), 256mb memory card as opposed to none, and a chance of getting a falcon chipset.

core also only has a wired controller and no memory card?
No brainer for me, £10 more and buy an arcade...
btw. hdmi looks no better than VGA or componant. xbox 360's get like dots on some games, and i was hoping that was because no hdmi, got a hdmi, dots still there... so hdmi wouldnt be a huge selling point, unelss of course ur running short of inputs.

As some of the post has mentioned already, i suggest that you go for the arcade version, for just c. £20 pounds more you get a memory card and a more reliable system with hdmi. For those that don't know, the first few generation of xbox 360 were very unreliable and frequently had the 3 ring of death error. For that reason MS had to extend their warranty and got a lot of bad press.

Give credit where its due; good find. but i would pay more and get an arcade or elite.

MS reduced the price last week by abou 40 pounds so there will be more deals around.

I think VGA still suffers form loss of colour depth, and componet is too jaggy, in my experience. I am yet to try an HDMI conneciopn. But when I do I hope it looks as smooth as the VGA but without the colour depth issues. I would say definitely go with the ARCADE from GAME or somewhere that offers a no quibble 12 month replacement warranty. It's silly to get an original Core for the sake of £30 (less than 30, considering GAME offer a new-ish free game with their consoles). First deal i've voted cold.

I just can't see the logic behind NOT spending £10 or even £20 more to get the most up to date model. If you're spending £130, might as well spend £140. If you can afford £130 but not £140...should you really be buying it at all? :-D

Also they are the revision 1 motherboards, dogged with heat issues, which Microsoft slightly addressed with their redesigned Zephyr Motherboard they introduced with the HDMI input and a better Heatsink and new capacitors.

The newest and currently more reliable Falcom Motherboard has redesigned capacitors and a 65nm CPU core instead of the older 90nm CPU core, which runs cooler. It also has a lighter and less wattage 175w power supply and is a lot quieter and defintiely a lot cooler. A fourth revision Jasper is set to roll out towards the end of this year with both 65nm CPU and GPU.

A Core 360 would definitely be a revision 1 Xbox.
An Arcade 360 would either be an older stock Zephyr or a new Falcon.

Good deal, however Ias I have posted before I know this is a forum looking for the best deal, but sometimes the user may want to consider reliability and customer support.

Tesco have not been great I have read on forums about accepting back faulty 360's palming the consumer onto Microsoft.

I am on my 3rd Xbox 360 from Gamestation under warranty, no hassle swap out unit (not because they were faulty but because I am a fussy b*gger that had a revision 1 and now have a Falcon, dont forget I paid a lot more nearly a year ago for my premium and want to ensure I have the most reliable unit)

Just ask yourself this question, Xbox goes t*ts up, would you prefer a NEW replacement from a shop under warranty, or have a refurbished one from Microsoft after it is is shipped off to them some two weeks later? Remember this is £130 with no games, you will be wanting games surely? Add the cost of one current game and oh its £160, same price as an Arcade with a game from other retailers.

My advice, check what retailiers offer replacement 360's under warranty, get a box that has a 175w power supply instead of trying to pinch save......you pay your money, you make your choice though.

I just can't see the logic behind NOT spending £10 or even £20 more to get the most up to date model. If you're spending £130, might as well spend £140. If you can afford £130 but not £140...should you really be buying it at all? :-D

Why bother trying to put people off buying from Tesco???

Clearly a good deal.. I've had a Core for 2 years now and added the wireless stuff after.. picture looks great if you get the right cable.. if you don't have a HDTV then it doesn't make a difference anyways.

Clearly a good deal.. I've had a Core for 2 years now and added the wireless stuff after.. picture looks great if you get the right cable.. if you don't have a HDTV then it doesn't make a difference anyways.

For once it's nothing to do with Tesco (although you may find that hard to believe). I've stated my reasons in the post you replied to. Just don't understand why someone would buy this - I'd be saying the same if it was with any other retailer.

I just can't see the logic behind NOT spending £10 or even £20 more to get the most up to date model. If you're spending £130, might as well spend £140. If you can afford £130 but not £140...should you really be buying it at all? :-D

I'd pick this up if I didn't have one already.

These are the easier ones to break, so when the slimlines due in August come out you can break this and get it replaced with those.

Older core models don't have HDMI sockets, which are vital if you want a decent HD picture.

lol not at all true, i run mine through vga on an older premium model and the picture is great, and component wasnt too far off. especially when pretty much all 360 games are designed based on 720p anyway

Good info from CicoBuff. Nice one. Saved me the bother of writing it. I'd get the newer model for the extra tenner. You'll probably save that in petrol / parking / postage costs when you have to send this back to microsoft with the RRoD.